UNDER-21 ENTERTAINERS ARE WELCOME at CHEETAH AGAIN!
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the right of young women under the age of 21 to perform at establishments in Atlanta where alcohol is served. The Court's ruling strikes down a 2007 City of Atlanta ordinance which prohibited anyone under the age of 21 from entering, working in or performing where alcohol is sold by-the-drink. The ordinance had adversely and specifically affected dancers at Cheetah who were 18+ but under 21.
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled in favor of five CheetahGirls in a 2007 lawsuit they brought against the City of Atlanta. At the time, all five were either 19 or 20 years old.
In a unanimous decision, the high court reversed a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that upheld the City ordinance.
As a result of Monday's ruling entertainers over the age of 18 are now eligible to audition and perform at Cheetah once again.
Congratulations, CheetahGirls, and thanks for taking the lead in challenging the City ordinance.
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Excerpted from
Supreme Court of Georgia
Information Office
SUMMARIES OF OPINIONS
Published Monday, September 28, 2009
WILLIS ET AL. V. CITY OF ATLANTA ET AL. (S09A1081)
The Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled in favor of five young erotic dancers in a lawsuit they brought against the City of Atlanta. In a unanimous decision, written by Chief Justice Carol Hunstein, the high court has reversed a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that upheld as constitutional a city ordinance which forbids people under 21 from entering and remaining in businesses where alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises.
According to briefs filed in the case, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX and XXXXX were dancers at the Cheetah Lounge strip club when the City enacted the ordinance in 2007 as part of its “Alcohol Code.” At the time, all five were either 19 or 20 years old.
In today’s opinion, the state Supreme Court finds that the local law conflicts with two state laws that deal with underaged persons who serve alcoholic beverages as part of their jobs. When the two statutes are read together, “it is clear that the Legislature’s intent is to allow persons who are over the age of 18 but not yet 21 years old to dispense, serve, sell or handle alcoholic beverages as part of their employment,” the opinion says. The City ordinance “directly impairs the operation of these general statutes by prohibiting persons aged 18 to 21 from entering in or remaining at the premises of licensed establishments where they are legally entitled to hold jobs that involve dispensing, serving, selling or handling alcoholic beverages.” The trial court was therefore wrong to reject the young women’s constitutional challenge of the City’s ordinance.
Attorneys for Appellants (Dancers): Alan Begner, Cory Begner
Attorneys for Appellees (City): Elizabeth Chandler, Jerry DeLoach, Amber Robinson
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NOTE: Georgia law prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from drinking alcohol.
